A Birthday Surprise
by seaweedqueen
Summary: [DMHG,PostHogwarts]Ron Weasley finally gets the guts to ask Hermione out. But what he finds is far from what he expected.


Dearest Hermione Carol-Ann Granger,

I guess it was my fault. If I hadn't been such a stupid nosey guy and if I hadn't been adamant on going against your wishes, I wouldn't be in the predicament I am in now. I wouldn't be breaking apart because my heart is aching terribly and I wouldn't be harbouring such angry feelings against not only you, but **him**.

It was your birthday today…well it **is** your birthday today. And you're turning 18. It's been a few weeks since school broke up and we graduated and you've been so busy, so you've said. Harry's been down at the Burrow for weeks now and we're always waiting for when you agree to come and stay here. But I guess **he's** changed your mind.

You said that you were busy today; you were going to spend it with your family and a few friends that you didn't usually spend much time with. When I first thought about it, I thought that you had lied to us and I was pissed off. But then I realised that you hadn't. **He** was a friend if that's what you call it, and you didn't get to spend much time with **him**, did you Hermione?

Want to know what I'm on about? No worries, I'll gladly tell you.

I decided that hey, I cared about you immensely, as more than a friend and if I wanted you to like me back, I needed to do something special, something that would make you like me.

You, as I already said, told us you were busy today and you'd see us soon, and we could celebrate your birthday belatedly. Harry and Ginny were okay with it but I told them of my plan to win your heart, but **he** had already won it, hadn't he? They were against it and said I should respect your wishes but I wouldn't listen. I came anyway. I Apparated to the deserted alley that I usually Apparate to and walked to the flower shop near your house.

The flowers were beautiful; a mix of white and red tulips, your favourite colours. I ended up walking down your road, proudly with the bunch of flowers. They were expensive, Hermione, but they were obviously nothing to the three huge bunches **he** had gotten you. They were really beautiful, weren't they; one a mix of red and white roses, another full of pink carnations and white roses and the last a beautiful array of daffodils with white tulips.

**He** knew just what you would like, didn't he? He turned up on your doorstep and you greeted him with a chaste kiss and a meaningful hug. My flowers had dropped to the floor by now. You must've gone inside and put the flowers in vases because I Apparated back home. Harry and Ginny were out at Hogsmeade so I grabbed Harry's cloak and Apparated back. Soon after I came back, you came back outside to him. You laughed gaily as he whispered something in your ear.

Can you imagine my shock, Hermione? Imagine me, your best friend of seven years who has been in love with you for at least four of those years, coming to your house to wish you a happy birthday and tell you how I felt only to find you in the arms of **him. **Can you even come close to imagining how much it hurts?

You grasped his hang tightly as you began walking down the road. You were coming towards me but I was invisible, remember? I stood beside a tree, a bit of a distance away from you so that you both couldn't hear my breathing. You saw the flowers on the ground and wondered where they were from.

You asked **him** what he thought. You've never asked me my opinion on anything before. **He **said that he had no idea and it didn't really matter. **He** said that you deserved them and urged you to take them, but you didn't did you? You said that though someone had obviously deposited of them, they weren't rightfully yours. You were wrong for once, Hermione. They weren't 'deposited' of and they were yours.

He merely grasped your hand and kissed your forehead before leading you down the road. I followed as silently as I could. Some may say I seem like a stalker, but don't worry I'm not. I was merely curious. I was, after all, once one of the three people you had told everything to. I guess you never really did tell us everything, hey?

You finally reached the small local stores. They weren't overly crowded, helping me hide. You were walking past the pet store when you stopped and started to 'aw' at a small puppy in the window. It was a small white Maltese Terrier and you were already in love with it. His nose was pressed against the window and his eyes were staring into yours, so **he **said. He asked you to wait outside and while you were waiting your phone thing rang. Someone wished you a good birthday and you spoke for a while. A good few minutes later, he walked out with the puppy in his hands apologising for taking so long.

The puppy had a small pink bow attached to the collar. You started to tear at the action and you crashed into him with a large hug. You kissed him, for a while too. It killed me watching him. You only pulled away when the dog had licked your chin softly. You laughed happily and took the dog into your hands. You told **him** that the puppy reminded you of **his** hair and so you named him 'Junior' as in the junior of him.

He pulled out his wand slightly; concealing it from the sight of Muggles, and with a small charm, there was a tag on Junior's collar. You kissed **him** again before shifting Junior into one hand and hold **his** with the other. He smiled and kissed your neck quickly before you started walking again. I followed.

He kept on leading you and you kept asking where you were going. He told you to trust **him** of all people…and you did. I was surprised but followed anyway. He kept walking until you got to the beach that you live near. It was cold and the water was freezing, you said. I didn't want to get Harry's cloak wet.

**He **just kept leading you until you reached a small pier that was over the water. You sat on the edge together, his arms around you tightly. I wanted to be him, of all people that I know, more then than any other time. I envied him with my whole being. **He** was the one that had his arms around you, not me. He seemed to nibble on your earlobe, you giggling adorably. I wanted nothing more than to rush and grab you away from him…but I didn't.

He looked incredibly nervous suddenly and I was confused. Why was he, sex-symbol extraordinaire, nervous around you, the prudish bookworm? I was wondering that when you asked him my thoughts. You asked him why he was so fidgety. He sighed and kissed you softly before speaking.

When I first reacted to the days events, I was angry. I was cold, in the first parts of the letter and for that I'm sorry. I'm almost recounting your day and as I do this, I can see that his intentions aren't all that bad. He really does care, doesn't he? Well Ginny's over my shoulder dying to know more and is quite upset, not because she still doesn't know who he is but because you didn't tell her. So I'll continue.

He said that you had taught him what love was. He had been surrounded by cold people until you came into his life. You showed him happiness and warmth that he had never felt before. He said he loved you, over and over again and he didn't know what he would be if it weren't for you. He told you that he wanted you always in his life because he couldn't imagine living without knowing that you loved him.

Then he did it.

He pulled out that small velvet box and proposed. He asked you to give him the honour of waking up beside you everyday; you joked and said that he did a lot of the time. He merely smirked his famous smirk and continued. He wanted the privilege of waking up and going to sleep each day and knowing that you were there for him and that you were his. He wanted you to be his wife and the mother of the heir to the Malfoy fortune.

You agreed.

I was heartbroken when you did that. I felt like jumping into the water then and there but then I realised that you would then know I had been following you. I felt like bursting into tears but my anguish wouldn't allow me to.

It was after sunset that you both walked back home, your swollen lips were prevalent. Your mother greeted you at the door, chiding you for being so late but when you lifted your hand to show her, she burst into tears and embraced you both. I guess your parents love him, don't they?

Now that my 'recount' is done, I want to say a few things. Good luck in the future, Hermione. I hope that everything will be okay between us and that perhaps, we'll remain friends. He's a lucky man, Hermione and make sure that you always remind him of how amazing you are. Hopefully you'll even invite me, the broken friend, to your wedding and perhaps, just perhaps, I'll be the godfather to one of your children.

Have fun as Mrs. Draco Malfoy.

Love always,

Ronald Geoffrey Weasley.


End file.
